Think a bigger home is better? Believe it or not, there’s a lot to love about less square footage. Check out these 5 BIG benefits of living in a small house!
Are there actually benefits to living in a small house?
I’ve moved 11 times as an adult.
I’ve lived in 300 square foot basem*nt apartments, 900 square foot town homes, 3,000 square foot large homes and pretty much everything in between. In all those moves, one thing has been constant.
The large homes may be impressive to look at, but the benefits of living in a small house make it my favorite to live in.
Here are Big 5 Benefits of Living in a Small House
If you feel stuck in your small house, I want you to think about the benefits that the smaller house brings to your family. There are so many benefits to small house living that are hard to appreciate until you’ve moved out. These are my top 5 benefits of living in a small house.
A smaller house saves you money
Because a smaller home typically costs less, this frees up money every month to spend on things that you really want. It’s not just the lower mortgage payment that will save you money, though. There’s about a $200/month difference for our electric bill from our 900 square foot home to our 3000 square foot home. That adds up to major savings over the years that you’ll spend in your home.
Just as important as having extra money to spend every month, is knowing that you’re living below your means. Living below your means gives you peace of mind if you have a major financial setback like being unable to work, losing a job, or having a serious medical problem.
A smaller house is easy to clean
Cleaning 900 square feet is obviously less work than 3000 square feet. Let me tell you, “cleaning the house” in my 300 square foot basem*nt apartment took about 7 minutes. Cleaning the house in my 900 square foot townhouse took about 2 hours. Cleaning the house in my 3000 square foot home took about 5 hours. The benefits of living in a small house = less cleaning!
When you’re cleaning your house every week, that’s a pretty significant time-saving. Have you ever carried a large vacuum up and down 3 flights of stairs? It’s not fun. Your only other choice is to buy a vacuum for every level of your house… or never vacuum.
A large house encourages you to have more “stuff” in it, which is more “stuff” that needs to be cleaned and cared for. We filled the 3000 square foot home to the brim with stuff we thought we needed. When we lived in the smaller houses, we thought about where we would put things before we bought them and walked away from a purchase if we didn’t know.
A smaller house can help build relationships.
There are plenty of families that grew up in mansions that are extremely close, but I truly believe that my upbringing in a small house (1000 square feet) brought my family closer together. When you live in a small space together, you learn to work around each other and diffuse problems before they happen.
We jokingly say “There’s nowhere to run to” in our house and it’s a true statement. It’s really hard to avoid people in a small home. You learn to work around your differences and mediate problems as they come up.
In the 3,000 square foot house, it was common for my husband to play Xbox downstairs and me to watch movies or fold laundry upstairs. In the small house… Everyone spends time in the living room because that’s the only option. It makes us closer to each other since we spend more time together. We choose activities that would involve everyone like game nights and popcorn parties instead of individual activities (like Fallout and Reality TV).
A smaller house encourages you to live more simply
Believe it or not, one of the biggest benefits of living in a small house is you have less space, so you’ll choose wisely what deserves a spot in it. I promise you that you don’t really need everything we buy to fill up that 3000 square foot home. And you’ll likely be happier without it. Think about the things that you use every single day. Now add in a few hobbies that you do frequently. Those are the things you need to have space for in your home.
Our great-great-grandmothers had a pot and a pan. We have 13 different types of pots, pans, steamers, fryers, griddles, slow cookers, rice cookers, woks, fondue pots, you name it. And yet, they made every single meal from scratch while I still struggle with avoiding the drive-thru. I find more and more that the fewer things I have, the happier I am.
A smaller house is easier to customize
When you live in a 3,000 square foot home with vaulted ceilings, two living rooms, and four bedrooms it can be really expensive to furnish. It can be even more expensive to decorate! Without a large amount of expendable income, it’s hard to create the warm and inviting home you dream of.
When you live in a smaller house though, having your space set up and decorated exactly how you want it is pretty easy! You can paint yourself, and start small grabbing quality items that are made to last and upgrading things slowly over time. After some time, you’ll have a magazine-worthy house that you’ll be proud of at the fraction of the cost of a larger home.
My 700 square foot apartment was gorgeous and I was so proud to have friends over for dinner. My 900 square foot townhouse was beautifully decorated and personalized. It felt like a home as soon as you walked in. My 3,000 square foot house felt really impersonal. There were a lot of white walls and it had a “bare-bones” feel to it. It felt like a large house, and not a cozy home.
While I certainly think that having a large cozy home is possible, I want you to realize that there are so many blessings in your small home that you might overlook while you’re wishing that you had a larger home. Because I’m over here, wishing that I had your smaller home.
To recap, here are the 5 big benefits to living in a small house!
- A smaller house saves you money
- A smaller house is easy to clean
- A smaller house can help build relationships.
- A smaller house encourages you to live more simply
- A smaller house is easier to customize
Enjoy the Benefits of Living in a Small House
At the end of the day, it’s not the size of your house, but what you fill it with. You can be happy in an apartment or you can be happy in a mansion. The house won’t create your happiness, it supports it.
Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below!
Other helpful resources:
- 7 Ways to Decorate with Things You Already Have
- Spring Cleaning? Here are the Most Useful Tips and Tricks Ever
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As someone who has moved 11 times as an adult and experienced living in various-sized homes, ranging from 300 square foot basem*nt apartments to 3,000 square foot large homes, I can confidently speak to the advantages and disadvantages of different living spaces. My extensive firsthand experience provides a deep understanding of the dynamics associated with varying square footages and their impact on lifestyle, finances, and relationships.
Now, let's delve into the concepts presented in the article "Think a bigger home is better? Believe it or not, there’s a lot to love about less square footage. Check out these 5 BIG benefits of living in a small house!"
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Cost Savings in a Smaller Home:
- Expertise: Smaller homes generally come with lower costs, leading to significant monthly savings. This isn't just limited to the mortgage; it extends to utilities, with concrete evidence cited, such as a $200/month difference in the electric bill between a 900 square foot home and a 3,000 square foot home.
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Ease of Cleaning in Smaller Spaces:
- Expertise: Cleaning efforts are inversely proportional to home size, as evidenced by the time required to clean a 300 square foot basem*nt apartment (7 minutes) compared to a 3,000 square foot home (5 hours). The article emphasizes the practicality and time-saving aspects of smaller homes.
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Building Relationships in Small Houses:
- Expertise: The article posits that living in a smaller space fosters closer relationships within families. The personal experience of growing up in a 1,000 square foot house is used to support this claim. The lack of physical space encourages interaction, problem-solving, and shared activities.
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Simplicity and Intentional Living:
- Expertise: The concept of living more simply in a smaller house is explored. The idea is that limited space prompts individuals to be selective about possessions, leading to increased happiness. Historical context is brought in, drawing a comparison between the simplicity of our great-great-grandmothers' homes and the excesses of contemporary living.
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Customization Benefits of Smaller Homes:
- Expertise: A smaller home is portrayed as easier and more cost-effective to furnish and decorate. The author draws on personal experience, highlighting the aesthetic appeal and pride associated with a 700 square foot apartment and a 900 square foot townhouse in contrast to the perceived impersonality of a 3,000 square foot house.
In summary, my extensive experience in moving and living in homes of varying sizes aligns with the article's assertion that there are significant benefits to living in a smaller house. From financial savings to relationship-building dynamics, simplicity in living, and ease of customization, the article effectively communicates the advantages of embracing a smaller living space.
